December 27 in diaries
Meet F.B. Harrison
Diary and diarist in focus: Francis Burton Harrison
Francis Burton Harrison (1873-1957) was a New York congressman, governor-general of the Philippines, and adviser to Presidents Quezon, Roxas, and Quirino. His administration accomplished the Filipinization of the Civil Service and government, and he was, as a result (and because of his genuine support for Philippine independence), remarkably disliked by the American community. He asked to be buried in the Philippines, of which he had become an honorary citizen in 1936. His diary is a candid glimpse into the early years of the Commonwealth, and of the Commonwealth government-in-exile.
In this entry, he provides a glimpse into a Baguio in transition, how it had changed from his administration and to how it was changing in the transition period of the Commonwealth:
December 27, 1935
Golf in a.m. with Doria. Bridge in p.m. with Ed. Harrison, Houghton & Thompson at the Pines Hotel. Called on the Quezons who were out and left my memorandum of the digest of Gladstone’s Irish Land Laws. Called at the Mansion House which is double the size it was in my days. Instead of a wooden second story with sawali walls between the bedrooms as formerly, it is now a really modern mansion reconstructed by Governor General Davis. Grounds and gardens are greatly extended and really well done. Saw the High Commissioner in his bedroom apparently at work in his dressing gown. He asked Doria to ride tomorrow. After dinner in Pines Hotel, an evening talk with Rafferty –my loyal friend.
Learn more about Francis Burton Harrison and his diary.
Diaries today:
1972: Ferdinand E. Marcos, President of the Philippines.
1944: Filipinos: Gen. Basilio Valdes, Phil. Army chief of staff; Ramon Alcaraz, Q-Boat captain; American POWs: Arthur Shreve; American civilians: Albert Holland;
1942 Louise Fillmore Blancaflor, American married to a Filipino in Iloilo.
1941: Filipino civilians: Teodoro M. Locsin, journalist; Antonio Molina, lawyer; American civilians: Herman Beaber; Elizabeth Lautzenhiser; Lucy Hardee Olsen (Manila and environs); Robert Renton Hind; Natalie Crouter (Baguio); American military: Gen. Lewis Beebe, USAFFE chief of staff; John P. Horan IV, USAFFE commander in Baguio; Capt. Kenneth Ranson; John P. Burns, pilot.
1938: Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippines; Francis Burton Harrison, former governor-general, adviser to Pres. Quezon.
1931: Marcial Lichauco, member, OsRox Mission.
1911: Vernon Burge, pioneer aviator in the United States Army Air Corps.
1899: Simeon Villa, Santiago Barcelona, staff of Pres. Aguinaldo; Ernest Dieball, American soldier.
1898: American soldier John Henry Asendorf; Salvation Army missionary John E.T. Milsaps.
1896 Gregorio del Pilar, general in the Philippine Army.